Temblores

In this deeply personal followup to his landmark debut Ixcanul, Jayro Bustamante shifts his focus from rural Guatemala to the denizens of Guatemala City but once again sets his sights on an individual caught between two seeming irreconcilable worlds. When handsome and charismatic Pablo arrives at his affluent family's house everyone is eagerly awaiting the return of their beloved son, devoted father and caring husband. A seemingly exemplary pillar of Guatemala City's Evangelical Christian community, Pablo's announcement that he intends to leave his wife for another man sends shock waves through the family. As Pablo tries to acclimate to his new life in the city's gay subculture with the liberated Francisco, his ultra-religious family does everything in it's power to get their prodigal son back on track, no matter the cost. "If Bustamante's lucid second feature makes it feel as though the world itself is trembling beneath your feet, it's because this mercilessly grounded film keys into the devilishness of Pablo's dilemma: Forcing him to choose between himself and his family is the only way to guarantee that he ultimately loses both" (David Ehrlich, Indiewire).